Copy Cats

Revelation 13-14:1-5

Copy Cats

Intro: According to an 2017 Associated Press article, Counterfeit goods cost the US about 600 Billion dollars a year. This is not just purses, wallets and clothing and other goods, which costs us between 20-40 Billion a year. It is also software, movies, and trade secrets. The last item alone costs the nation somewhere between 180 and 500 billion dollars.

Oscar Wilde said “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

And while that may be true there is a fine line between learning Rembrandt’s painting style and then painting a picture and claiming it is a Rembrandt.

It is easy to copy something that sells or works because of name recognition and a reputation of quality. The profit is far greater and most people can't tell the difference between the real thing and a knockoff.

Read Verses: Revelation 13:1-8 “And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. On its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads were blasphemous names.2 The beast I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 One of its heads appeared to be fatally wounded, but its fatal wound was healed.

The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 They worshiped the dragon because he gave authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter boasts and blasphemies. It was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to speak blasphemies against God: to blaspheme his name and his dwelling—those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. It was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. 8 All those who live on the earth will worship it, everyone whose name was not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slaughtered.

Main Idea: God is the only True God, everything else is an imitation (Isaiah 44:6-7)

The Unholy Trinity Is Completed (1-17)

Last week, we witnessed Satan being thrown to the Earth because he opposed God. But then we are shown another scene and we are shown two beasts, one that comes from the sea, like the ancient leviathan and the other that comes from the land, like the behemoth which ar both mentioned in Job.

We are looking out at a body of water and we see the Dragon is standing on the shore. John witnesses the beast coming out of the sea and he describes it with crowns and horns, and different parts of different animals.

The first beast described is similar to the description in Daniel 7, but this time, instead of being four separate beasts, which are thought to represent four distinct empires of the Medo Persians, The Babylonians, the Greeks, and Romans, John may be explaining that this new beast is worse than any of the four empires and is so,thing more powerful and “may embody the worst of them all. He is the antichrist

The Anti-Christ

This person is in direct contrast to Jesus. So much in fact that John mentions that he had a mortal wound that was healed, and the whole earth marveled that it was healed. This is very similar to the death and resurrection of Jesus. And for some reason the people of the earth worshipped this second beast and Satan had given him power. It seems that he had been so worshipped that the people Called out, “Who is like the beast and who can fight against it?” perhaps unknowingly but I think John’s people would have known the references to several Scripture Passages.

Psalm 113:4-7

says The Lord is exalted above all the nations,

his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the Lord our God—

the one enthroned on high,

6 who stoops down to look

on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the trash heap

8 in order to seat them with nobles—

with the nobles of his people.

Isaiah 44:7

‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;

Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,

From the time that I established the ancient nation.

And let them declare to them the things that are coming

And the events that are going to take place.

Exodus 15:11

“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?

Who is like You, majestic in holiness,

Awesome in praises, working wonders?

In verse 5 we see that the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words.

Blasphemy is the unpardonable sin, “it is one of the most serious of all spiritual iniquities in the Old Testament because it denies the sovereignty of the creator.” “The concept of blasphemy is more than failure to believe in God and endorse his programs and ways; it is active repugnance and open opposition to the Creator God.”

This is exactly opposite how the Son spoke of the Father. Jesus understood His role in the plan.

John 14:28

You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

In John 8: 49-50 When the Jews confront Jesus and have a lengthy conversation, The Jews responded to him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you’re a Samaritan and have a demon?”

49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus answered. “On the contrary, I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks it and judges.

Jesus came to Earth to die for your sins because he is truthful and He is the living word of God. HE is God incarnate and he is the only one that can atone for your sins.

And if The first beast mimics Christ, then the second beast mimics the Holy Spirit.

The False Prophet

Verse 11 introduces the second beast, which is the false prophet. John tell us that had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. The explanation is this: “The creature’s deceptively mild appearance is belied by its speech, which is like that of a dangerous dragon. The contrast between appearance and reality is like that in the saying, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt 7:15). Here the land beast speaks for the dragon by promoting idolatry (Rev 13:14).

Verse 12 is perhaps the most disturbing portion and the most telling of Satan's mode of rule. The second beast, using the power from Satan, makes or forces people to worship him. The political and religious power are joined together and you are forced to take both.

Now in first century Rome there was a blending of religion and politics and depending on the ruler, people were forced to call the caesar lord. For the early part of Church History, one of the hot topics was whether to allow Christians who actually acquiesced to this worldly demand could be allowed back onto the church. They were forcing people's loyalty and fealty. Swearing that you loved the caesar above any other or at least alongside any god.

The coercion or strong arming extends to the economy and your place in it and if you can by or sell goods Unless you receive a mark of some kind. The new society will make it essentially impossible to feed your family and make a living. Christians will be cut off or at least forced to make their own way and economy.

This is in direct contrast to How God operates. The prophets never forced anyone into worshipping God. In fact it seems almost like most people paid no attention to the prophet's preaching and followed the world. They were free to exercise their free will but there are consequences for disobedience.

If we are pressed into service, we do not love our savior, we have been ripped away from what we want to do and operate from a place of fear of consequences.

But if we realize God’s gift is a grace and we replace our will with His, then we have fully entered into the covenant. This transaction is made possible because 1) your name is written in the book of life before the foundation of the world and 2) your name, is written in the Lamb’s blood.

False prophets used miracles to lure people into false worship: “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut 13:1–3). This description informed the expectation that false prophets would arise at the end of the age to deceive people with miracles (Mark 13:22)

People preaching false gospels and performing false miracles are ones who work for Satan. We must be on the alert for people twisting the gospel and trying to manipulate you or others by making you feel guilty or trying to get you to adhere to very different things than what is in the Bible.

If they do not preach a Gospel of being saved by Grace alone through Faith alone made possible by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, then they are false. In other words if they are trying to tell you you are saved by Jesus +_ _ _ _ Then they are false.

Since Satan is not particularly original, he has to mimic what he already knows and perhaps what he has seen work in the world so far. Why make a new logo and product when I can steal yours or alter it just enough that you either don’t know or don’t care about the quality or differences until it is too late.

So he has created or will create since this is still in the future his unholy trinity. Anything he can do to disrupt people from worshipping God is a win for him. So he creates a system that copies the perfect Trinitarian system of Father, son, Holy Spirit with Satan, Anti Christ and False Prophet

Why? Because we are made to worship. But it is what or who we worship is what gets us into trouble.

The Beast (18) and the Lamb (14:1-5)

We have compared and contrasted The modes of God and of Satan. But there is always a lingering question and that is the last verse of chapter 13. The number of the Beast. 666. What is it, who does it indicate because John says it is a person.

Scholars seem to think this refers to Emperor Nero. if you use the system called Gematria, which is assigning a number value for each letter of the alphabet, that when you spell out Caesar Nero you get the number 666 and even if you spell it our a slightly different way you get 616, which is found in a few of the Greek manuscripts

If the Greek name Neron Caesar is written in Hebrew letters as נרון קסר/Nrwn Qsr, it equals 666 (N = 50, r = 200, w = 6, n = 50, Q = 100, s = 60, r = 200). The Latin form of the name Nero lacks the final n, which has a value of 50. When transliterated into Hebrew as קסר נרו/Nrw Qsr, the sum is 616, which is the number that appears as an alternative to 666 in some manuscripts (see below). Therefore, Nero’s name works for both forms of the text.

But not everyone agrees that this is what is meant because there are many possibilities of numbering and naming.

Another theory is that 666 is imperfect because it is not 7. Each of the unholy persons is imperfect and so they can only be a 6. But this may be unlikely because the 1st century did not necessarily look at the number 6 as imperfect.

There may be another possible meaning and it speaks to the beginning of Chapter 14. And tis is where reading the Bible with out or at least not paying attention to the modern chapter breaks may help us understand the context.

Revelation: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary Notes

The followers of the beast are marked with the number 666, and the followers of the Lamb number 144,000. These numbers are juxtaposed in Rev 13:18–14:1. The number 144,000 is twelve squared times a thousand, and it depicts the vast company of the redeemed (7:4–8, cf. 7:9). By way of contrast, the beast’s number is based on twelve halved, which is six, and the sixes are multiplied by ten and a hundred, not by a thousand. The impression is that being marked with the beast’s 666 is a debased alternative to belonging to the Lamb’s 144,000 (cf. Bauckham, Climax, 398–99).

Conclusion

So what does this mean?

Satan will make a mockery of God at every turn. He is incapable of creating anything so he uses people like puppets. to blaspheme God and to trick people into believing him and that he is just like God.

Satan twisted God’s words in the Garden. he had to be forcibly removed from heaven whereas Jesus willingly left the throne to live among us and become the passover lamb and take the sins of the world.

Satan says follow me or you will die.

Jesus says Follow me and you will live forever

Satan marks his people like branded cattle.

God Seals his people to himself.

When you buy a cheap knock-off or copy cat you get what you pay for. It may impress your friends and you may like the attention you get when people see your purse, watch or jewelry from afar. But, it cannot stand the scrutiny of an expert. Imagine paying 10 million dollars for a painting only to find out almost a decade later that it was a forgery. You probably waited for the painting, watched auctions and then proudly displayed the painting in your home. This happens a lot and it takes people deep investigations to determine if the paint materials used is of the period and does not contain modern materials.

When you are following the one true God, it doesn’t matter who the Antichrist or false prophet is because you can identify any false idols that arise.

You can tell them you know who the one true king is and who the copy cat is